Knock-down garment form and support therefor



Aug.- 25, 1959 BALDWlN 2,901,154

KNOCK-DOWN GARMENT FORM AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed April 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet L ifx FIGJ.

Fl 6.6 88 INVENTOR.

ANN BALDWIN ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1959 A. BALDWIN 2,901,154

KNOCK-DOWN GARMENT FORM AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed April 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ANN BALDWIN.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent KNOCK-DOWN GARMENT FORM AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Ann Baldwin, New York, N.Y.

Application April 1, 1957, Serial No. 649,828

4 Claims. (Cl. 223-68) This invention relates to garment forms or mannequins and more particularly, to knock-down garment forms for home use in the fitting and sewing of garments.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No. 594,818, filed June 29, 1956, for Knock-Down Garment Form, now abandoned, and has as one of its main objects, the provision of suitable reinforcing means for stabilizing the garment form during use and maintaining the predetermined shape thereof. It has been found that knock-down garment forms of the type described and claimed in my copending application, have been very useful and accurate for the purposes described. However, because of the substantially light weight of the cardboard of synthetic resin sheet material, there is a tendency for the form to be easily upset or moved along its supporting surface. While this does not effect the accuracy or the quality of the garment construction, such is an inconvenience and annoyance to the user. Accordingly, another object of the present inventionis to provide self contained support and positioning means for knock-down garment forms of the above type for overcoming the aforementioned inconveniences.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment form having integral brackets for permitting the form to be adjustably supported upon a vertical member, which brackets do not extend outside of the normal lines of the form and do not otherwise interfere with the natural shape provided by the adjustable elements thereof.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide means for removably supporting a knock-down garment form upon an adjustable vertical support member, which means further rigidify the form and comprise a minimum number of parts of very simple and efficient construction.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment form (shown in phantom lines), embodying brackets made in accordance with the present invention for supporting the form upon an adjustable vertical member.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the bracket made in accordance with the present invention in operative association with a vertical support member.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a modified form of support bracket.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged top plan view of the bracket shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged top plan view of a blank forming the collar construction of the knock-down garment Patented Aug. 25,

ice

form shown in Fig. 1, adapted to receive the brackets shown in Figs. 3 to 6 for supporting the upper end of the garment form.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the blank shown in Fig. 7 in an assembled relationship.

Fig. 9 is a front elevational View of the device shown in Fig. 8, showing the manner in which the support bracket is received therein.

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of an additional disc member forming a part of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a front elevational view of a pair of connected back and waist sections forming a part of the garment form shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 12, a knock-down dress form made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a three-dimensional blouse portion 13 that is in removable engagement with a threedimensional skirt portion 15.

The three-dimensional blouse portion 13 is shown to be constructed from a plurality of correlated two dimensional blanks that may be of any desired flexible sheet material such as cardboard or synthetic resin sheet material. Aside from the neck section 50, the blouse portion is made up of a pair of waist sections 20, a pair of back sections 30, and a pair of bust sections 40. Since each of the three respective ones of the pairs of sections are mirror images of the other of each pair, they may be of identical shape and configuration and may be interchangeable with each other so long as they are used as opposites. This facilitates the manufacture of the device and maintains the cost thereof at a minimum. In assembling the form, one of each pair of blanks is used as a left section and the other is used as a right section.

Waist section 20 is defined by a pair of sides 22, 23, that converge downwardly towards the lower edge 24 which is oppositely disposed from a curved bust cut-out edge 25, immediately adjacent to an armhole cut-out 26. A plurality of vertically spaced securing holes 27a are disposed along the shorter side 23 of the blank for registering with similarly spaced openings along the shorter side 32 of the back section 30, through which a securing element such as a split-stem type fastener may be extended into securing engagement therewith to fasten the sections together. Each set of openings 27a includes a plurality of laterally spaced openings for selective registry with the mating openings in the back section so that the two sections may be secured together in any one of the adjusted positions, depending upon the size desired. The,longer side 22 of the waist section is provided with a series of spaced openings 28a, one of the upper openings of which is adapted to be placed in registry with a similar opening on the opposite Waist section, as is one of the lower openings which is also to be placed in registry with a centrally disposed opening along the upper edge of the skirt portion 15, so as to permit fastening elements to be extended therethrough to maintain the parts in the selected adjusted position.

Each back section 30 is defined by a pair of side edges 32, 33 that converge downwardly towards the lower edge 34 that is oppositely disposed from a curved neck cut-out section 35 and an armhole cut-out 36. Additional openings 38a are provided in the upper edge of the back section and are adapted to be placed in alignment with mating openings in the respective bust sections 40 whereby those two sections may be effectively assembled. The longer side 33 of the back section is provided with a series of vertically spaced openings 39a that are adapted to be registered with similar openings in the opposite back section to provide means for securing those sections together, the lowermost opening 39a being provided to register with a matching opening in the skirt portion 15 to maintain those parts together.

Reference is now made to Figs. 7 to 10' which illustrate'a neck or collar section 50 forming a part olfthe present invention, that is adaptedto'be inserted in the upper end of the form. This section 50 is constructed of a substantially flat blank of' fi'exible material, such as the aforementioned cardboard o'r-sy'nt hetic resin, and is provided with an ancuate upper edge 51 and an arcuate lower edge 52 that are connected together by similar end edges 54, 55. Each end of the section is provided 'with a pairof spaced openings 53a, 5312 that are adapted to be placed into alignment with the corresponding openings at the opposite end, whereby a form of substantially truncated, conical configuration is provided. substantially centrally located circular projection 57 extends outwardly from the lower edge 52 of the section and is adapted to be folded inwardly about a crease line 56that forms apart of the lower edge 52. The diameter of the projection-57 is slightlygreater than the diameter of the circle formed-by the lower edge 52 'when the collar is in an assembled position, whereby the circular projection forms a base that supportingly underlies the lower edge 52, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. A securement tab 58 having an opening 58a extends outwardly from the outermost side of the circular projection 57 and is adapted to be folded upwardly into alignment with the mating openings 53b through which a fastener is extended to secure the collar section in the described form.

A pair of openings 64 are provided in the collar section and when the section is in the assembled relation'ship shown in Fig. 8, the openings 64 are diametrically opposed. The projection 57 is provided with a slot 59 that lies along the diameter contained in the vertical plane extending through the openings 64. These openings 64 and slot '59 provide means for fastening. either one of the securement brackets 60, 85, shown in Figs. 3 to 6.

For purposes of illustration, the collar section 50 is shown in Figs. 8 to 10 in association with the preferred form of bracket 60, shown in Fig. 3, while it will be understood that the other form of bracket may be similarly accommodated. The bracket 60 is shown to'include a substantially U-shaped central portion 62, each leg of which terminates in an outwardly extending arm 63. During the assembly of the collar section 50,the U-shaped portion 62 is extended through the slot 59 in the circular projection 57, while the arms 63 are extended through the openings 64, in the arcuate collar section, as clearly shown in Fig. 9. This assembled unit may then be placed in association with the other parts of the garment form as shown in Figs. land 2. The shape of the neck portion not only represents the actual configuration of that portion of the human anatomy, but also provides a stable support for the engagement therewith of the cut-out portions of the respective bust and back sections. The downwardly diverging sides of the conically shaped neck portion vertically support each of the bust and back sections so that the weight of the form is transmitted directly to the collar section which is adapted to be supported upon a vertical support post, in a manner hereinafter described. The arms 63 of the bracket also supportingly engage the shoulder portions of the form. Thus, the garment form is adapted to support a substantial weight without collapse, thereby permitting the form parts to be constructed of light weight material without sacrificing the rigidity and stability required in this regard.

Referring now to Fig.'11, a spacing disc member '70 is shown to' have a substantially circular mid-section 72 with a central circular opening73; A'pair of'radially outwardly extending rear tabs and a pair of radially outwardly extending forward'tabs are disposed along the circumference thereof. The forward tabs 76 are provided with outwardly disposed pointed ends 77 which not only facilitate the assembly of the disc to the remainder of the form, but also identify the forward tabs 76 as such.

As is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 12, each back section 30- is provided with an'elongated 'slot 78 adjacent the lower edge 34 thereof, while each waist section 20 is provided with a similar slot 79-adjacent to the lower edge 24. Thus, with the form in the assembled position shown in Figs. 1 and 11, the rear tabs 74 are adapted to extend through the spaced slots 78-'inthe rear sections while the forward tabs 76 are adapted to be extended through the corresponding slots 79 in the waist sections. This disc serves to further rigidify the form while the central openings 73'provides additional guide means for thesupport post--80 that-extends therethrough andinto engagement with the depending U-shaped portion 62 of the bracket 60. Inasmuch as the-lower end of the blouse port-ion'13-of the form'extends into the upper end of the skirt port-ion 15-of the form, the outwardly extending tabs 74,76, of the disc are effectively masked, whereby they do-not interfere with the appearance or the utility of the garment form.

With reference now to Fig; 3 of the drawing, the depending Ushaped portion 62 of the bracket is shown in operative engagement within the upper open end 83 of a preferably telescoping support post 80. A base 81 secured to the lower end of the post 80 provides a stable support'for the assembled garment form.

In Figs. 4 to 6, a modified form of bracket 85 is shown that is adapted for use with a solid support post 92, such as a dowel or circular rod. This bracket includes a centrally located circular ring portion'86 having perpcndicularly upwardly extending spaced legs 87 that terminate in inwardly turned portions 88. The inwardly turned .portions 88 are provided with perpendicularly upwardly extending upper legs which, in turn, are turned outwardly to form a pair of outwardly extending arms 89. These arms 89 are contained in a plane that also contains a diameter of the circular ring portion 86, whereby the upper legs 90 may be extended upwardly through the slot 59 in the collar section so that the arms 89 may be extended through the provided holes64 and beneath the shoulder portions of the form. In this manner, the inwardly turned portions 88 provide a vertical support for the bottom of the circular section 57 and a stop limiting upward movement of the pole 92 through the circular ring section 86. This bracket is preferably constructed of spring steel, so thatthe circular ring section 86 may adjustably and grippingly engage the pole 92 to retain the parts in assembled relationship.

It will be recognized that by embodying the aforementioned elements, a garment form is provided that has a substantially rigid base which may be readily manipulated'without danger of tipping or collapse. Furthermore, all of the elements are readily assembled and disassembled with each other so that a knock-down form is provided that serves the desired purpose when in an assembled position, and which requires a minimum amount of storage space when in a storage or inoperative position.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In 'a 'knock-down'hollow garment form fabricated of flexible sheet sections defining a waist portion and a neck opening, a collar'section extending through said neck-opening; and 'seciirem'ent means associated with said collar section for supporting said garment form upon a vertical support member, said collar section comprising a two-dimensional blank in an assembled three-dimensional form of substantially truncated conical shape having a lower portion of substantially greater diameter than the neck opening, said securement means including a bracket carried by said collar section adapted to be removably secured to a vertical support, said collar section further including a base member underlying said lower portion, and said bracket having portions extending diametrically through the wall of said conically shaped form and through said base.

2. A knock-down garment form as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bracket comprises a U-shaped central portion defined by a pair of upwardly extending legs, each of said legs having an outwardly extending arm, said U-shaped central portion extending through said base, and said arms extending outwardly through the wall of said conically shaped form.

3. A knock-down hollow garment form as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bracket comprises a substantially central circular portion having a pair of upwardly extending lower legs each terminating in perpendicularly inwardly turned portions, said inwardly turned portions having a pair of upwardly extending upper legs each having an outwardly turned arm, each said outwardly turned arm extending through the wall of said conically shaped form, and said inwardly turned portions underlying said base, said central circular portion being adapted to releasably engage a vertical support post.

4. In a knock-down hollow garment form fabricated of flexible sheet sections defining a waist portion and a neck opening, a collar section extending through said neck opening, a vertical support member, and securement means associated with said collar section for supporting said garment form upon said vertical support member, a disc member having fastening means for securely engaging circumferentially spaced central portions of said waist portion of said hollow form, and said disc member having a centrally located opening for receiving the vertical support member in substantial vertical alignment with said securement means, said fastening means of said disc member comprising circumferentially spaced tabs extending through correspondingly spaced openings through the walls of said waist portion, said disc member maintaining said vertical support member substantially along the central longitudinal axis of said hollow form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,086,094- Smith Feb. 3, 1914 2,284,967 Ray et al. June 2, 1942 2,341,424 Chason Feb. 8, 1944 2,644,620 Palmer July 7, 1953 2,724,532 Baldwin Nov. 22, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 614,089 Great Britain Dec. 9, 1948 

